Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday watched U.S. Supreme Court arguments in a union fees case sparked by one of his first actions as governor, saying afterward that free speech and the battle against “conflicts of interest and corruption” were at stake.

In 2015, the Republican governor issued an executive order and filed a legal case aiming to ban public-sector unions from collecting fees from government workers who opted out of a union. The move put the issue on a track to the high court, even though Rauner is no longer officially involved in the case.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Rauner said government employee union contributions to politicians were tantamount to “bribes.”

“Everything a government union does is political by its very nature,” Rauner continued. “It impacts taxpayers; it impacts government and politics. One hundred percent of what a government union does is political by nature, therefore forced payment of dues is political speech.”

The governor arrived in Washington on Sunday and marked what he called his first meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House Governors’ Ball hosted by the president. Rauner has kept Trump at arm’s length in the past and at times has declined to use the president’s name. He said his talks with the president at the White House were not extensive, calling them “more a social opportunity.”

The Supreme Court case is an important one to the governor, who late last year told the Tribune Editorial Board the case is one of a couple that could give him “transformative” wins over organized labor.

A lower court ruled that Rauner did not have standing in the case because he is not a union member, but another plaintiff was found: Mark Janus, a state employee in Springfield who objected to the roughly $45 per month deduction from his paycheck that went to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

As the governor spoke outside the Supreme Court on Monday, hundreds of pro- and anti-union demonstrators gathered on a cold morning fought a boisterous battle of competing chants. “Union strong,” came from the labor side, which played music including reggae star Bob Marley’s “One Love.”

“Stand with Mark,” was the answer from the other.

Democratic Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan also was outside, saying the case isn’t about free speech. “This is a case where there are a small group of very well-funded right-wing extremists that want to eliminate unions throughout this country,” she said.

Democratic governor candidates J.B. Pritzker and state Sen. Daniel Biss both released statements assailing the governor over the case. And in Chicago, Rauner primary challenger state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton said the governor was seeking to mend fences with Republicans by trying to associate himself with Trump.

“Certainly (Rauner) is getting a lot of bad press from Republicans statewide who feel that he will not say Donald Trump’s name and that he has no association with Donald Trump,” she said. “And he knows now it’s hurting his campaign. He knows that. So that’s why he’s there, to actually finally stand with Donald Trump.”

Rauner was planning to depart Washington on Monday evening. His focus in the capital included education, workforce development and training, and infrastructure. He was back at the White House early Monday for more meetings before leaving for the high court, spokeswoman Patty Schuh said.

The governor said he and other governors spent more time with Vice President Mike Pence. Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, ran Rauner’s first campaign in 2014. Rauner also said he had meetings in D.C. with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and with U.S. Transportation Department officials. He said he wanted to maximize help from the federal government to pay for improvements to state roads and bridges.

Rauner noted he had visited the White House when Democrat Barack Obama was president. He said Monday that he would work with the Illinois General Assembly to obtain funding for millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements surrounding the future Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side.

He said it was a “very, very important opportunity for the people of Illinois” and said the center would be a “great tourist draw” and “great economic engine.”